Is Your Water Heater Leaking From The Top?

A water heater leaking from the top is preferable to one from the bottom. On the other hand water runs downhill, so failure to fix the leak can lead to more serious problems, including electrical shorts, additional damage to the water heater, and the possibility of water damage such as ruined carpeting or drywall. Under normal circumstances, with a leak at the top of your water heater, there are only a few causes of the leak, and the solutions may be simpler than you thought.

Leaking from the Top of the Tank: Finding the Source

If you suspect that you have a hot water heater leak from the top, turn off the power to your water heater. Most homes have a dedicated circuit breaker for an electric water heater, and some were built with an easily accessible secondary shut off in the vicinity of the heater itself. For a gas water heater, turn the thermostat control to the off position.

Do not turn off the cold water inlet until the leak has been found, as the leak could stop without sufficient pressure. If you cannot see a leak, slowly run your dry hand over the pipes and joints. If you are still unsuccessful in locating the leak, try wrapping the pipes and joints with tissue paper, being careful to watch for damp spots.

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Most Common Causes of Water Heater Leaking from the Top

Leaking Valve

Many water heaters have a ball valve, an in-line valve to turn off the water flow, identifiable as a joint with a handle. When the handle is parallel to the pipe it is on, and if the handle juts off at a right angle, the valve if off. If the handle or valve is dripping, you can simply tighten the nut which holds the handle in place. If the leak gets worse, you may have to replace the valve. If the leak is not affected, look for another cause.

Leaking Pressure Relief Valve

The temperature and pressure relief valve (T&P valve) is located on top of your water heater, and acts as a safety valve to release excessive pressure or water in case of overpressurization or thermostat failure. This valve is typically located at top center of the tank. If this valve is leaking, it is usually better to replace it completely. Replacing the valve is relatively simple and can be done in only a few minutes minutes.

Leaking Joint

If the valve is not the source of the leak, the most likely problem is a loose connection or even a stripped threaded nipple. If the tank uses copper tubing instead of threaded pipe, you may need to enlist the services of a professional plumber unless you are comfortable with making the repairs yourself. Another option is to re-plumb the tank using threaded pipe or water-rated PVC to simplify any future repairs. Turn off the water and drain the tank before disconnecting any pipes.

PVC Joints

If there not a compression coupling available, you will need to cut the leaking pipe in an area that can be spliced back together. If the leak is at a location where PVC is joined to metal, such as entering the top of the heater, tighten the threaded fitting with a pipe wrench or appropriate tool. Reconnect the pipe using a female to female coupling. Allow the PVC cement to fully dry before turning on the water, and do not turn on the power until the water has been turned on to prevent possible damage and the need to replace your water heater element.

Threaded Pipe

In order to tighten threaded pipe, you will have to located and disconnect the compression coupling, a special female-female fitting that slides over two pipe ends, joining them together using washers inside special nuts on the coupling. When the compression coupling has been disconnected, tighten the offending joint with the appropriate wrench and then reconnect the compression coupling.

Water Heater Repair Notes

Tightening a loose joint may not stop the water heater leak by itself. For more dependable results, completely disconnect the suspect joint and wrap the threads using Teflon tape or joint compound and then install them as described above.

In some rare situations, the problem may be caused by a faulty nipple, a short piece of threaded pipe used to connect other pipes to the water heater or a valve. Nipples can be purchased in precut lengths from your local hardware store. For better, long lasting results, replace nipples with a dielectric nipple, recognized by the hard plastic lining inside the nipple.

When tightening joints and connectors, take care to avoid over torquing. A good rule of thumb is to tighten a pipe finger-tight, and then use a wrench to tighten it 1/4 turn at a time until is firmly in place. Over Torquing can cause the threads to strip, turning a minor problem into a serious leak and resulting in additional repairs.

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25 Comments

Jerry

Hi the water from my hot water tank is running and running straight down the throught the over flow pipe, amd on top the shut off value itself is just Turing it won’t get in an off position l.uckily it draining down to the overflow pipe so my attic is still dry

Sounds like your pressure relief valve is bad. That’s one of the more common problem areas. The fact that the shut off valve is not shutting off water flow is another problem. That valve should also be replaced. You’re going to have to shut off water further up the line. The next shut off valve may be along the exterior walls of the home or at the street.

There is a filter on the input water (cold) side that sprung a leak. I shut off the valve leading to the water heater, but the water that leaked sprayed onto the dry wall and collected on the floor (luckily no carpeting from a previous issue).
Do you know what the cost to replace this piece?

There is a small spray coming from behind the temperature dial at the bottom of my tank. It’s a small spray, and is spraying up on the outside of the tank. Help please. It’s an old hot water heater, but need to know if it’s fixable. Thanks

My water heater is leaking from the very top center of the tank. It looks to be some kind of plug but it it threaded ( female) does anyone know if this can be replaced or is this actually part of the heater itself?

Cold inlet is leaking. Connection is tight. Gas valve went into lock out status, due to either water hitting it or the power vent shorted out. A – is this repairable? B – would you trust the vale and vent? It is 6 years old.

Just installed a new water heater. Can’t seem to get rid of a small leak on the hot water threaded nipple. I’ve got it pretty tight but still has a tiny drip. I used leak tape on the threads but I was thinking I need to remove it and add more tape. Also, I grabbed beaded heat trap nipples at home depot. I’ve never seen those before. Is there an up or down on them?

Yes, redo the teflon tape or tape dope and add a bit more this time. The heat trap nipples are directional. On the cold side, the flapper should be on top to let the water in. On the hot side, the flapper should be on the bottom to allow the hot water to come out.

I left the gas on when working on some plumbing and had the water shut off to it for several hours. Upon completion of my project turning the water back on now the water is leaking around the top. It is where the pressure relief valve and the plug screw in but not on the threaded portion it is outside of the threads

I have warm water coming out around the exhaust shield screws on the top. I have dried it multiple times and watched the water come up from under the plate and not down like it was rain water. It also does not appear to be coming from the fittings What could be causing the water to pool up and push through that area? Looking at the exhaust hole is does look like there is rust around that area as well.

How old is the water heater? I’m assuming it’s a gas model like Dave’s? If you’ve checked all the common locations noted on this page, there’s a good chance the tank has failed. With the amount of pressure a tank has, even the tiniest pin sized hole can cause a good size leak.

November 28, 2017

ROBIN

puddles of water on top of gas heater. cannot tell where it’s coming from, as puddles in area of each copper pipe entry, as well as in center, and where valve is. Looks rusted in these areas. What might be the issue? HELP!

My hot water heater is leaking on the top, it appears to be coming out of two tiny holes where the vent hooks into. I have turned off the gas and the cold water pipe. I can’t tell if any water is coming from the round plug on the top.

I have water coming from the exhaust on the top of the water heater. It’s pooling up and running down the backside of the unit itself. Any ideas of what would be the cause of it to happen? I’ve tried releasing the pressure and that just drained some of the water out and it still continues to run. Seems like something internal but not quite sure which direction to look..any ideas?

This is a fairly easy fix if you just need to replace a flex hose water line. Here’s a video that should help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WG6Ipup4JTE
But please call a plumber if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself.